Berlin task force questions state aid for Opel: FT

By IBT Staff Reporter On 02/18/10 AT 4:24 AM

FRANKFURT - A German government advisory panel has raised doubts about whether General Motors' reorganization plan for European arm Opel deserves crucial state aid, the Financial Times paper reported on Thursday.

The task force that groups senior government officials and an investment banker does not have the final say but deemed the plan unqualified for government loan guarantees, it quoted three officials in German states with GM plants as saying.

GM is asking European countries with Opel plants to contribute 2.7 billion euros ($3.71 billion) in aid toward the 3.3 billion euro revamp. Germany alone is being asked for 1.5 billion in loans or loan guarantees.

German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle has publicly expressed skepticism about the plan, but German states with Opel plants have been more open to the idea of using taxpayer funds to help save as many jobs as possible.

The Opel plan calls for cutting 8,300 jobs and closing a plant in Belgium to slash capacity by a fifth and return to profit by 2012.

A white Fiat van rammed into pedestrians outside enjoying a late afternoon stroll on Las Ramblas in Barcelona on Thursday killing at least 13 people and leaving hundreds injured. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.